CR Dutta’s body reaches Dhaka
His body will be taken to his Banani residence tomorrow (Tuesday), followed by a state guard of honour at the Dhakeshwari Temple
The body of Bir Uttam Chitta Ranjan Dutta, widely known as CR Dutta, one of the sector commanders of the Mukti Bahini during the Liberation War, has reached Dhaka.
A flight of Emirates Airlines carrying his body landed at around 9.45am on Monday at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, Dhaka, from the USA, where he passed away on August 25 (Tuesday) at the age of 93.
The body of CR Dutta will be kept in the cold storage of the Combined Military Hospital (CMH), the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council (BHBCUC) said in a press release.
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Tomorrow at 7.30 am, his body will be taken to his Banani residence, followed by a state guard of honour at the Dhakeshwari Temple.
According to the press release, he will not be taken to the Shaheed Minar or his hometown in Habiganj considering the pandemic situation in the country.
From there the body will be taken to the crematorium at 11 am. The army will salute him there from 11:30 am to 12 noon. Before the funeral, CR Dutta's will be given a military gun- salute.
Earlier on August 20, Dutta fell in the bathroom and broke his leg.
He was admitted to a hospital in Florida, in USA, after his condition deteriorated. He breathed his last there at around 9 am (Bangladesh time) on August 25.
Dutta had also been suffering from various incurable diseases.
Bir Uttam CR Dutta was the founder Director General of the then Bangladesh Rifles, which is now called Border Guard Bangladesh, former Chairman of Bangladesh Muktijoddha Welfare Trust and Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation and founder President of Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council.
Dutta was born on January 1, 1927, in Shillong, Assam. His ancestral home is in Mirashi village of Chunarughat upazila of Habiganj.
He joined the Pakistan Army in 1951 and a few days later, he was commissioned as 'second lieutenant'.
The then Pakistan government rewarded him for his courageous contribution to the 1965 Indo-Pak war, the first battle of his military life.
In 1971, Colonel MAG Osmani, the commander-in-chief of the liberation war, appointed Dutta as the commander of Sector 4.
He made important contributions after being appointed as Brigade Commander in Rangpur in 1972.
In 1973, the government felt the need to form a border guard force for independent Bangladesh and gave the responsibility to him in this regard.
He later formed a border guard force and it was named Bangladesh Rifles. At present, the name of this force is Border Guard Bangladesh.
He was awarded the title of Bir Uttam for his valiant contribution to the great Liberation War.
The city road from Katabon to Karwan Bazar Signal was named after 'Bir Uttam CR Dutta'.
